More than This
by ThisAccountIsNowInactive354085
Summary: Sugi's still searching for a favorite. What happens when the one who always gives the advice is the one who needs it the most? And what happens when she realizes that maybe right person has been right in front of her all along?
1. Favorite

**I feel like it's ridiculous that there are so few fanfictions devoted to SugiXTamamin. Actually, I feel like it's ridiculous that the author sunk their ship, I mean in the chapter where Sugi is talking about picking a favorite, the subtext was so obvious it was almost painful. So instead of doing my homework like I should be, I'm gonna try and write this piece. So yeah. Please review, especially if you want me to continue :3**

**XxxxX**

**More than This**

**Prologue: Favorite**

_**xXLiStLesSXx**_

**XxxxX**

Satoko Sugiyama sighs, her chin resting on the open palm of her hand, her eyes aimed out the window.

It's such a stupid, childish thing, really, she has no idea why she's so…not depressed, not quite, but…indifferent.

_Listless._

When had it stopped entertaining her to play their hearts (like a violin)? And since when (since _when_) had she longed for any part of something more serious?

_Someone I can love forever, hmm…?_

She knows without hesitation that none of her (five) boyfriends was 'the one'; she feels like she's known that all along.

_"Even if you become an old spinster, I'll stick together with you in the old folks' home!"_

Sugi sighs again, her cheeks flushing just the slightest bit. _Tamamin…_

Sometimes her small, exuberant friend can be so painfully naïve- as_ if_ they will remain friends for the rest of their lives. This is high school, and everything outside of it is…something that she (secretly) isn't quite ready to face. Not yet. But for some reason, those words coming from the mouth that was smiling so brilliantly (innocently) was enough to make Sugi forget her worries for the moment.

She said naïve, but for such a cute girl, Tamamin really is the farthest thing from inexperienced. Mari and Akko, she thinks, have them beat by a mile in that respect. Those two always manage to bring a smile to her face- so young, so hopelessly lost in each other.

Shaking the stray thought from her head, Sugi's thoughts drift once more to those nights at Akko's place, at the mixers, at the bars that Sugi always managed to get them into… They were hazy, sweet-scented and vodka-flavored, and she still remembers that first night.

"_Sugi, what are you-"_

_A finger pressed to warm, sticky lips._

"_Shh."_

_A whine, a protest-_

"_But I don't-"_

_Silence, a kiss._

"_Everyone does it, Tamamin."_

Sugi's hand tightens just faintly around the pencil clutched in her hand. Why is she remembering _now_? What does it matter, how it started?

It's not like it means anything, when it happens.

And it's okay, because everyone does it.

_It's okay._

And sometimes Sugi thinks that the reason she does it (still) is that it doesn't have to mean anything. The rest of the world can wait until the morning, and in the morning she'll wake up and decide which of her boyfriends' arms she'll spend the day in, and what happened the night before doesn't have to mean _anything_.

Shaking her head slightly, Sugi blinks herself back to the topic at hand- and why is she so unfocused today?

Five boyfriends- it was every teenage girl's dream, right alongside Prince Charming, and she's never had any problems living like this before. But now there's this _emptiness_- not quite an aching- where her happiness used to be, and Sugi doesn't know how to fill it, only thinks that maybe having one person, a special person, might help her understand.

_"Don't you think it's time for you to pick a favorite?"_

She takes out her phone and sends out a group text message and waits for the replies that she knows will come, and hopes that maybe, just maybe, everything will make sense again.

_Thinking too much- who wants to come rescue me? ;) _


	2. Only This

**xannaxmurderx: Thanks :3 I think so too, I was so very upset when she sunk the ship in the epilogue, she was majorly hinting in Sugi's chapter with the 'favorite' thing. That was such a ship tease D:**

**CBgurl: Thanks :) I agree!**

**Major Mike Powell II: Thanks :3 And I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that way! That's the thing I feel like might be hard to work out for the in character bit, since both Sugi and Tamamin, as I say below, are very open with their emotions, but I think since it's a whole different thing to actually be in love with your best friend, I can pull it off :)**

**Okay, so since both Sugi and Tamamin are very honest with their feelings, I'm going to have to approach this in an unusual way, and hopefully it won't require me to break character :P**

**I wanna thank everyone who commented again- I really wasn't expecting many comments because of how little fiction is on this forum, but I got more than what I'd expected :3 You guys make me happy :3 As usual, please enjoy and review :3**

**XxxxX**

**More than This**

**One: Only This**

_**xXLiStLesSXx**_

**XxxxX**

"I just don't know what to dooo~"

Sugi bit back a small smile at the sight of Akko, who was slumped across the table at McDonalds as if there was no one staring. "It seems like you're always coming to me about these things, Akko," she mused, stirring her coffee with the small straw that came with it. As if she would ever risk actually eating anything here at sacrificing her figure- unlike her blonde friend, who had an entire combo laid out in front of her, she had the self-control _and _resolve necessary to say no to the tempting fast food. "Maybe you should be spending more time trying to fix it than asking me how. The longer you wait, the worse the situation is going to get."

Akko grunted, her chin resting on the table. "I don't want to, though," she muttered. "Mari- I mean! My _friend-_"

Sugi chucked at her friend's flushed face- she adored teasing Akko, and, on occasion, Mari as well. The reactions she got were just too good to pass up. "Right, right, well," she began, "you should try and fix things with your…friend…before things get even worse than they already are."

Akko sighed. "How do you know so much about this stuff, Sugi-san?" she asked, before quickly correcting herself, "I mean, I know you know _stuff_, but I mean, about relationships and _love _and all that. Is there something we don't know about you?" she asked, eyeing Sugi suspiciously.

The curly-haired girl smiled enigmatically. "I don't remember ever giving you advice on anything other than friendship," she said. "You always come to me about a 'friend', after all."

Huffing, Akko folded her arms over her chest, clearly frustrated with the runaround. "I mean…well, you have to know what's g-going on between M-Mari and I," she stuttered, her face flushing as the smile on Sugi's face grew at Akko's version of a confession. "And you always know the right thing to do, even though it's not just friendship I'm always-"

"_Always_."

"-having problems with," Akko finished, talking over Sugi's muttered comment. "I mean, in the beginning, you were against it, and told me things like our relationship would ruin our friendship, but after that…" She paused. "It's just that you always sound like you're talking from experience or something," she finally continued offhandedly, biting into a French fry, and thus completely missing the brief look of shock written across Sugi's features. "You were so convinced that it wouldn't work out."

Why _had _she tried so hard to get Akko to give up on whatever was happening with Mari in the first place? When she'd first realized that Akko was, indeed, talking about _Mari_, what was it that had told her that two girls together could never work out?

Because love- emotions- always ended in pain, and she could only attempt to put herself in Akko's place. What if she had been best friends with one of her boyfriends? What if they'd broken up? How could their friendship possible survive with so many broken promises and bitter feelings between them? "How is it?" she suddenly asked, causing Akko to look up at her in mild surprise. "Falling in love with your…with a friend."

Akko paused for a minute, then shrugged. "It's just as normal as anything else," she said before frowning slightly. "I still don't understand why you were so against Mari and I becoming closer when you're so close to Tamamin."

"Tamamin and I-" Sugi began before pausing. What about her and Tamamin? They were friends, yes, and they kissed and…what else? She knew that they had an unusual friendship, with her intolerance of otakus and Tamamin's…otakuness. "Tamamin and I are just friends," she finally settled on, wincing at how defensive the words sounded.

Akko, being Akko, didn't dwell long at all on Sugi's words, and Sugi thanked whoever was watching over that it wasn't Mari or someone else that she was having this conversation with. Looking back at Akko, who was frowning down at her phone, Sugi sighed. "You didn't want anything with that girl, right? You told her to stop?"

"Of course I did!" Akko cried out, jumping to her feet, defensive as ever. Sugi smiled gently and Akko quickly sat back down, embarrassed. "I mean, I know she was flirting, or eventually I got it, and I told her to stop, but by that time Mari had seen and, and- but Mari should _know _that I'd never do that to her! She…she should trust me," Akko finished in a quiet voice, her eyes swimming in unshed tears.

_Oh boy. _"Akko," Sugi began slowly, "I think it's obvious to everyone that Mari-chin trusts _you_; it's the other people that she doesn't trust. Think about it this way- if you'd seen her talking to some boy who obviously liked her, what would you-"

"_OKAY_," Akko declared, her hands coming down against the table-top, a far-too-happy smile plastered across her features. "Thank you for the advice, but that's enough of _that-_"

"Akko."

The shorter girl glanced back at her with the same sad, hangdog expression she'd been wearing all night, though now it was mixed with a trace of anger. "Akko, just because you're _far_ more vocal about expressing your jealousy doesn't mean that she isn't just as sensitive to those situations as you are," Sugi continued in a less flippant tone than she generally used, making sure to maintain eye contact with her friend. "Knowing you, you would have either burst right in and caused a huge scene, or tried to spy and caused and even bigger one, embarrassing both Mari _and_ yourself," Akko blushed brightly, "but Mari is a shy, quiet person. Just because she doesn't cause a scene doesn't mean that those things don't upset her. From what you've told me, you didn't even bother to push the girl away-"

"I was in shock! It's shocking when someone you hardly know just _throws-_"

"-until long enough later that Mari had already left. It's hardly fair for you to expect her to just forget about what happened," Sugi continued gracefully over Akko's protest. "As it is, she's only giving you the cold shoulder. I have no idea what you're whining to me about it for; go fix it." She gestured towards the door and watched as the blonde girl ran out, hair flying behind her.

Sugi rested her cheek on her hand, absently taking a sip of her drink and suddenly feeling very slighted by her five boyfriends and lack of such pointless romantic drama.

**PGBR**

"_I still don't understand why you were so against Mari and I becoming closer when you're so close to Tamamin."_

Come to think of it, her excuses to touch Tamamin had been growing thinner and thinner up until she just didn't bother making them anymore. And why should she have to? Sugi tilted her head, watching as her best friend interacted with the rest of the group of otakus; she couldn't believe it had been Akko to point out what was right in front of her all this time.

Absently, she watched Tamamin prance around the room with a small smile playing at the corner of her lips.

Because what was a crush, after all? She would admit that she found Tamamin cute, but who didn't? She still had her boyfriends, and Tamamin still had her manga, and nothing (_nothing_) had to change. While Sugi certainly knew better than to try and fight her feelings in the long run, she was positive that this was merely a passing fancy, the result of too many drunken make-out sessions. After all, it was impossible for those things to go on for long with absolutely no feelings behind them, but that didn't mean that those feelings had to be permanent, or even binding.

Retrieving her cell phone from her purse as she waited for Tamamin to finish her club so that they could ride the train home together, she checked her messages, grimacing slightly. Why was it always the ugliest men who cared the most? When she said that she wanted someone that she could love forever, it was obviously implied that they would need to be _attractive _at the very least. She huffed in slight annoyance and began to type out a text message.

"Which boyfriend is it today?" Tamamin chirped, causing Sugi to glance over at her cutely smiling best friend.

The taller girl returned her smile with a small half-smile of her own, flipping the phone so that Tamamin could see the message she had been in the middle of typing. The message was addressed to the shorter girl, and Tamamin grinned, grabbing Sugi's wrist before the beauty could protest and dragging her down the sidewalk towards some random comic book store.

_It's just a crush._

_ Just a harmless…_

**Review, por favor :3 Reviews=Updates, guys :3**


	3. Blame it to the Alcohol

**I always thought it was weird how Akko appeared to be blonde in the manga, but when they colored it, she turned out kind of in between blonde and brunette…I just say blonde to make the distinction easier, I guess :P So yeah, just wanted to clear that up just in case anyone was worried.**

**Major Mike Powell III: Thanks :3 Yeah, we have those bitches where I live like you wouldn't believe, my ex best friend was one too. **

**CBgurl: Thanks :3 I'm trying to update sooner than I have been with other stories I've been writing, and since the semester's almost over it's working so far :)**

**xannaxmurderx: Thanks :3 She definitely does, she just doesn't know it yet :3**

**Regretx993: Me too! But there are so few stories in this section that it's like, if you want it done, do it yourself, so, I decided to write this :3 I think she must've been, there's no WAY she didn't see the subtext she put in :PP**

**Please review :3**

**XxxxX**

**More than This**

**Two: Blame it to the Alcohol**

_**xXLiStLesSXx**_

**XxxxX**

It was nine on a Saturday night, and they were all sitting in Akko's room, Akko sprawled across her bed while Mari sat at the edge of it, Sugi and Tamamin sitting on the floor. Mari had called it a study session when inviting them along, but their backpacks were still all in a pile where they'd dropped them, by the front door.

"I'm bored," Akko declared after several moments of silence.

"So am I," Sugi stated, her lips curling into a slight smirk at the sight of the unsuspecting Tamamin huddled over one of her favorite manga. "Tamamin, entertain me," she cooed, just before wrapping her arms around the girl in a large, groping hug, causing the smaller girl to shriek in surprise.

"Sugi-san's a pervert!" Tamamin cried, squirming after she'd gotten over her initial shock, despite her giggling. Sugi grinned slyly before she really took in their position- she was on top of Tamamin, her hand supporting her on either side of the smaller girl's body, while Tamamin's arms were looped around her shoulders in an attempt to maintain her balance.

With just the slightest hint of a blush, Sugi sat back up, fixing her hair while Tamamin giggled beside her, completely unfazed. A tiny, infinitesimal part of Sugi was offended by the easy manner in which Tamamin brushed off the moment, but the rational side of her brain told her to put it aside. It was one thing when they were drunk, but…

"Akko-san," she began in a slightly sing-song voice, and Akko turned to face her in confusion until she seemed to recognize the look on her face.

Unnoticed by anyone, Mari was still sitting on the edge of Akko's bed while the blonde got up to get some drinks, her eyes flitting between Sugi and Tamamin almost as if she were working on a complex math equation.

**Two Hours (and an entire cabinet's worth of liquor) Later…**

"Let's play truth or dare!" Tamamin crooned through a fit of giggles. She wasn't nearly as sloshed as her lovely best friend, but her cheeks were beginning to flush red with the alcohol. "Sugi, you first!"

"Why me?" Sugi questioned loftily, the only visible sign of her drunken state being the fact that she was down to her bra and panties. "I think Akko wants to go first…" she added, batting her eyes at the red-faced blonde.

"Ok- wh-wh-what? NO!" Akko cried out, flustered when Tamamin's eager gaze found her. Her eyebrows knotted as she seemed to come to a realization. "And Mari can't play either!" she added loudly, slinging an arm around the brightly-blushing brunette, who was notably less wasted than the rest of the group.

"Aww, why can't Mari play?" Tamamin pouted.

"Yes, Akko, why can't Mari-chin play?" Sugi added, her lips curling into a teasing smile. Akko shot her an uninhibited glare, though as ineffective as it normally would have been, with her current level of intoxication, the look now rated around a negative three on the threatening scale. "Hmm, I think I upset someone…" Sugi murmured, smirking just slightly from behind her drink, eyes twinkling with mischief.

"Did not!" Akko replied huffily. "I just don't...don't want poor Mari exposhed to your perverted..ness like Tamamin ish!" Noticeably more obvious in her drunkenness, Akko was beginning to slur her words.

"Hmmm…," Sugi hummed, nursing her drink with a glazed look in her eyes. Akko was apparently aware that she knew their secret, so she could only assume she was holding back because of Tamamin. The beautiful brunette frowned, blinking back the thoughts that were quickly blurring over each other. What was she doing thinking when she could be drinking? She took another large swig of the bottle in her hands and fell backwards so that her head was resting on Tamamin's thigh.

It really was too fun to tease Akko, she thought, though she wasn't thinking at all once a set of small, nimble fingers began working their way through her voluminous curls.

"You have such pretty hair, Sugi-chaaan," Tamamin giggled, and Sugi grinned, rolling over and stretching her muscles only to take the smaller girl in her arms and crash their lips together.

And it felt so…so _right, _so free, and so _natural_, holding Tamamin in her arms like this, kissing her, feeling her slender arms wrap around her neck, squeezing just a little bit too tightly. And there wasn't any voice hissing at her that maybe she wasn't supposed to feel this way; not now that the alcohol had taken over her thoughts.

They parted for a breath, and Sugi turned slightly to find Akko rolling her eyes at them, and Mari…Mari might have been looking at them strangely, she wasn't sure, but Mari would never speak her mind about whatever she was thinking so the brunette allowed herself to overlook that bit. Turning back to her friend she found Tamamin gazing up at her, her cheeks rosy and her eyes eager, like a puppy, and Sugi grinned, ducking back down to capture her best friend in another kiss.

_It's just the alcohol._

"Hey, hey," Tamamin said after they broke apart, several heated kisses later. "Stop distracting me, Sugi," she said, turning her attention back to the rest of the room. Sugi blinked several times, having forgotten they weren't alone and really feeling the loss of contact. "Truth or dare!" Tamamin cried, grabbing the beer bottle her friend was holding and downing the rest of it in one go, resulting in a faintly pouting Sugi.

Tamamin placed the bottle in the center of the room, and a reluctant Akko followed Mari as the latter got off of the bed to sit on the floor across from the other two girls. Eyes glinting with mirth, Sugi mouthed "whipped" at the sullen blonde, who flushed brightly before glaring at the taller girl.

"Mari, you start," Tamamin said, pushing the bottle towards the shorter-haired brunette, who was looking at it slightly fearfully. Sugi smirked slightly- she obviously hadn't had enough to drink. "Spin it!"

Hesitantly, Mari gave the bottle a spin, biting down nervously on her lower lip as it slowed, finally stopping on Sugi, who smirked, because this was really just _too _good of an opportunity to tease the red-faced (and, this time, not just because of the alcohol) Akko. The blonde shot her a warning look which she playfully brushed off, bending over on her hands and knees so that she was only about a centimeter away from the blushing Mari's lips. She hesitated there for a second, just to prolong Akko's reaction, before leaning forward and giving Mari a quick peck. She fell back down to her position beside Tamamin, watching as Akko studied her girlfriend's face for any sign of a reaction. Really, Sugi had wanted to tease her a little more than that, but she couldn't find it in herself to put poor Mari through much more than she already had.

Once everyone had taken another swig of their drink, Akko situated herself a little bit closer to Mari, her hand pressed to her lower back in what Sugi assumed was her idea of subtle. The taller girl smiled to herself at the blonde's actions; she wondered what it must feel like to be so in love, and then decided that she was thinking too much again, and took another gulp of her drink.

Suddenly realizing it was her turn, Sugi reached forward and gave the bottle a clumsy spin before falling back into her sitting position, having lost her balance. She chuckled when she saw that it had landed on Tamamin, because of course it did, and leaned back as the smaller girl clambered into her lap to press a long, deep kiss to Sugi's lips. The taller girl found her arms snaking their way around Tamamin's waist, her fingers twitching with the urge to pull her closer. But Sugi wasn't too far gone to not be aware of what crossed the line- the line that she hadn't known existed up until a few days before.

Tamamin pulled back, licking her lips, a dazed look in her eyes, and Sugi grinned in a mixture of pleasure and guilty pride at the smaller girl's disoriented expression. However, the fact that she wasn't drunk enough to cross the lines meant that Sugi also wasn't drunk enough to block out the surprise (pleasure) she felt when Tamamin settled into her lap instead of crawling back to her spot on the floor.

The smaller girl reached out and gave the bottle an enthusiastic spin accompanied by a cute yelp of triumph. Sugi smiled drunkenly and leaned forward, resting her chin on Tamamin's shoulder as the rest of the alcohol began to blur her remaining inhibitions.

And then suddenly the smaller girl was squirming in her grasp, and Sugi released her hold on Tamamin, frowning slightly as she crawled out of her lap and towards Mari. "You can't chicken out of it this time, Mari!" the small otaku giggled, practically pouncing on top of the flustered brunette while Akko stared down at the two of them with a hopelessly shocked expression.

Sugi sighed, because really, it had to get tiring, being so surprised all the time. And then she frowned, because there was a funny feeling growing in the pit of her stomach, and not the kind that came from drinking too much. It seemed to get stronger the longer she watched Tamamin practically molest an intensely nervous Mari with her lips, and she had the strangest desire to rip the two apart and maybe kiss Tamamin a little bit (a lot). Her frown deepened- well, _that _was new. But she pushed the feeling aside- it wasn't very strong, and Tamamin had always been her drunken kissing partner. She was probably just experiencing withdrawal.

As soon as Tamamin and Mari parted, Sugi pulled the otaku back towards her, catching her in a brief but deep kiss even before the shorter girl was back in her lap. Tamamin responded more than enthusiastically, and Mari was looking at them funny again, but this time she was too drunk to think much of anything of it, and at least that funny feeling was gone.

**PGBR**

Sugi awoke the next morning with a pounding, nausea-inducing headache. Groaning, she rolled onto her stomach, trying to block out the light filtering in through Akko's window.

_I must've had more than I thought…_

Giving up on trying to breathe through the pillow that she'd been lucky enough to fall asleep on, Sugi rolled onto her side. Akko and Mari were both on Akko's bed once again- the former was sprawled across the width of the mattress while the latter was curled underneath one of her arms. Sugi might have thought the scene endearing if her head didn't feel like it would explode at any minute.

She sat up slowly, clutching her head, but only managed to make it halfway upright before she felt a heavy weight keeping her pinned to the ground. Glancing down, she found Tamamin clutching at her middle as if she were a teddy bear, her head buried in the taller girl's stomach. Sugi contemplated waking her for a moment before sighing and falling back against the pillow- it wasn't as if she was going to be able to do much of anything in this state anyway. Absently, she fiddled with Tamamin's pigtails, wondering how on earth the small otaku managed to drain her willpower so easily.

_After all, it's just a crush._

**Holy crap, I'm almost nineteen. I'm not sure how I feel about that, it feels like I'm growing up too fast for me to keep up D:**


	4. Kissing and Stuff

**Major Mike Powell III: Thanks! I was having a hard time trying to think of Sugi's reaction, so I kind of used a typical girl's reaction in that kind of situation, or at least, a girl like Sugi. Hopefully I'll explore that better in this chapter.**

**Charles Oberonn: Thanks :3 I feel the same way, for some reason I'm a sucker for beta couples. **

**Regretx993: Yay :3 Oh, and thanks :3**

**xannaxmuderx: Thanks :3 Since I'm new to Girl Friends fanfics, I am hopefully trying hard enough to keep them in character :)**

**You know what I've realized? When you're tired of life hurting, it's best to go with the flow and try your best not to care. It really, really hurts less that way, I can promise you that. Especially if you go back to a previous mindset, like if, like me, you were alone before, just pretend you never WEREN'T alone. It still hurts, but not so much. Watching Spongebob helps too, it always helps to pretend you're a little kid again and don't have any worries like that, right? **

**XxxxX**

**More than This **

**Three: Kissing and Stuff**

_**xXLiStLesSXx**_

**XxxxX**

A few days had passed since the 'sleepover' at Akko's, and Sugi was sitting in class, her cheek resting against the palm of her hand. The time was just crawling by, and after this she had another hour of good ol' nothing to look forward to while she waited at the cosplay club for Tamamin to be free to go shopping with her.

_To think that you're giving up an hour of your time for cosplay…are you sure this is just a crush?_

Sugi shook the offending voice from her head. Of course it was just a crush- not even that, an _attraction_, an acknowledgment of pleasant-looking features. She winced. Okay, maybe that was a little too scientific. As if to prove a point to herself, she took out her phone and sent off a mass text to her multitude of boyfriends.

_Going shopping today- who wants to help carry my bags? :)_

Not an appealing offer by far, but they were all far too enamored by her to refuse such an opportunity. Usually she'd think twice before inviting a boyfriend to accompany herself and Tamamin, but it would be reassuring with all the feelings she'd been battling with recently. There would be a clear distinction between friend and boyfriend, and then maybe she could finally set her thoughts straight.

The bell did eventually sound, and Sugi stretched her muscles before heading towards the English classroom, which had been loaned out to the cosplay club for their meetings. She slipped in quietly, as the club had already begun, even seconds after school had been let out- I mean really, did these kids have any lives? She caught Tamamin's eye while the smaller girl was speaking at the front of the room and gave her a small smile, which earned her a dazzling grin from her best friend. She sat back in her chair, feeling unnecessarily accomplished for absolutely no reason for about five minutes before she took to doodling on the desk she was sitting at.

It was another half hour before she looked up again, having heard Tamamin's loud, unmistakable laugh. She turned back to her drawing before doing a double-take, and what she saw had her unconsciously gripping the pencil she held in her hand tighter. An awkwardly thin, but moderately attractive (gorgeous by otaku standards) boy was leaning against the desk Tamamin was sitting at, grinning down at the girl and saying something Sugi couldn't make out.

And there was that feeling again, the one she'd felt the other night when Tamamin kissed Mari, only this time it was more insistent, harder to push back.

Especially when Tamamin caught her looking and dragged the boy over to introduce him. Sugi found herself fixing the boy with a less-than-convincing smile, her arms folding themselves over her chest reflexively.

"Sugi, this is Kenji- Kenji, this is Sugi-san," the small girl said brightly, as if she were talking about the newest manga in her collection. Sugi smiled icily, ignoring the hand that was offered to her.

"It's Satoko," she said, her voice positively dripping with venom. Kenji gulped audibly, but Tamamin seemed none the wiser as she skipped over to a group of unfortunate looking girls who were fawning over some anime boy. Sugi's smile disappeared as quickly as she'd forced it. "So…Kenji-kun," she began in a lofty tone, "what were you two talking about back there?"

Sugi didn't know why she was being so cold- the poor boy looked like he was about to wet himself, and God knew he'd never done anything to her. But the sick, stabbing emotion that had washed over her upon seeing them laugh together- watching the way Tamamin's eyes had lit up- was taking control of her speech.

"Uh…" the boy began intelligently, "We were just talking about a new anime series is all."

"A comedy?" Sugi asked in the same tone, which was neutral enough to send shivers down a grown-man's spine. Kenji looked as if he'd rather be anywhere but there, and was saved from answering by Tamamin bouncing back over to them, instantly drawing Sugi's attention away from the boy. Kenji took that moment to hasten out of the room, probably on his way to the bathroom to change his underwear.

Tamamin watched him go before turning to the beautiful brunette in front of her, who was currently examining her fingernails. "What was that?" she asked, her expression similar to that of a smirking lion.

Sugi raised her bored gaze to meet Tamamin's searching eyes. "Nothing," she said neutrally. "He seemed boring."

"You were jealous," Tamamin sing-songed, and Sugi almost dropped her nail file, her breath catching in her throat.

"I was not," she said (too quickly) after she'd recovered. "I just don't want my best friend to get involved with such a boring guy. It's called friendship, Tamamin."

Tamamin hummed in a tone that made it clear that she didn't believe a word her friend said. Sugi glared at her. "I've never seen you jealous before," Tamamin admitted, "but I'm pretty sure that's what it looks like. You're never that mean to someone for no reason." She smirked, obviously satisfied with her reasoning.

"You know I hate otaku," Sugi said by way of an explanation, "and why would I be jealous in the first place? Don't drag me into your weird fantasies," she huffed.

"Because you're afraid I'm gonna make a new best friend, obviously," Tamamin chimed without missing a beat, and for some reason Sugi felt like slapping herself on the forehead.

"I- that…_ugh_," Sugi finally groaned, frustrated with her sudden inability to keep her cool, around Tamamin of all people. "I'm not _jealous, _Tamamin. Don't be ridiculous."Her lips morphed into a small pout and Tamamin giggled.

"Whatever you say, _Satoko_," she chirped, poking the taller girl's nose, and Sugi growled under her breath as the energetic girl dragged her towards the train station.

But Tamamin's words rang through her head like bells on a foggy day- how could she possibly call this a crush when she reacted like _that _around any boy who so much as showed interest in Tamamin?

**PGBR**

If Sugi had ever wanted to know what it was like to be the rope in a game of tug-of-war, she needn't wonder any longer.

Of course she hadn't ever wondered this particular thing, but neither Tamamin nor her boyfriend-of-the-day seemed to be bothered by this fact.

Tamamin had been more upset than Sugi had anticipated when she learned that one of the boyfriends would be tagging along, and it had taken more than a few minutes of begging, plus a super-sized ice cream cone to get her to stop sulking. Sugi chalked it up to the fact that they had done their shopping together for years- it was _their _thing.

But really, this was taking it a bit too far.

Tamamin would grab Sugi's arm and drag her into some gaming or comic store every five minutes, and Sugi's boyfriend would claim her as soon as they were back, attempting to drag her into some dark corner for 'alone time'. Then when she came back from _that_, Tamamin would refuse to talk to her until the next otaku-friendly store appeared, and the whole vicious cycle began anew.

By the time six o' clock rolled around, Sugi was thoroughly worn out, and collapsed into a booth at the first restaurant they came across in the food court. Tamamin slid in beside her without a moment's hesitation, and she caught her boyfriend's pleading gaze- _tell her to move, _I'm _the one you're dating._

Sugi only sighed and shrugged and watched as he stormed off to place their orders. "Really, men can be so immature," she mused.

"You sure know how to pick 'em, Sugi," Tamamin commented, then cowered slightly under the glare Sugi sent her. "What?"

"You're half the problem!" Sugi snapped in an uncharacteristically cold manner. "He's sulking because you keep dragging me off."

Tamamin turned to the side and huffed, arms folded over her chest. "If he's really that threatened by a _friend_, what kind of man is he, anyway?"

_And that's just your imagination, the bitterness in her voice._

Sugi shrugged, choosing to ignore the voice in the back of her head, though she had noticed the grimace on Tamamin's face when she had practically spat the word friend. "That's why I have more than one," she said, grinning enigmatically. Tamamin only rolled her eyes, and Sugi sat back slightly; she didn't really know how to deal with this side of Tamamin. "Tamamin…"

The shorter girl sighed and slumped, her head dropping against Sugi's shoulder, and the taller girl tried desperately to calm her heartbeat. "We just never hang out at all anymore," she said in an uncharacteristically somber voice that almost broke Sugi's heart. "With all of your boyfriends, finding time to balance them…that's why I said what I did earlier, I kind of hoped you _were _jealous because then you'd know…" she paused for a moment. "Then I'd be able to tell you cared."

The wavy-haired girl sat there in shock, not even realizing that her arm had worked its way around Tamamin's waist somewhere in between it all. "Tamamin, I…" She didn't know what to say; she couldn't very well tell Tamamin that she_ had_ been jealous, because it certainly hadn't been because she was worried about being replaced. "I'm sorry," she finally said, lifting her arm to run her fingers through Tamamin's hair.

The shorter girl tilted her head up, and, seeing the sincerely apologetic look in Sugi's eyes, lit up with a brilliant, toothy smile that Sugi couldn't help but return.

**PGBR**

It was dark when they were preparing to board the train back home- Sugi had invited Tamamin over that night, and was secretly glad that she'd agreed, because the taller girl was most certainly not going to let her walk around all by herself so late, and she didn't really want an argument.

It was surprising how crowded the train was at this time of night, and Sugi found herself unconsciously wrapping an arm around Tamamin's shoulders, even though she was much more likely to be groped. The men who would be wanting to touch Tamamin were far worse than the ones who wanted her, after all. Thankfully, Tamamin didn't seem to mind and actually leaned into Sugi, who found herself fighting back a blush for the first time in what felt like forever.

The moment she reached her room, Sugi collapsed onto her bed and felt a heavy weight drop on top of her. She grumbled something unintelligible into her pillow and felt the vibrations of Tamamin's giggles running through her own body, and was suddenly hit by the overwhelming desire to kiss the girl.

_No, it's not right._

_You're not wasted, you have no excuse._

"Kenji-kun asked me to be his girlfriend, you know."

Instantly, Sugi felt her muscles tense at the same time as Tamamin slid off of her, and she found herself sitting up and staring at the smaller girl as if demanding an explanation that she had no right to ask for. But Tamamin didn't seem to mind, only sat there looking slightly uncomfortable under Sugi's stare. "That's what you two were talking about?" the lovely girl asked, her tone several degrees below freezing.

"Um, no," Tamamin stated, and pulled out her phone, showing it to Sugi. The taller girl turned her head away and the smaller girl sighed. "He asked me out over text message."

Sugi scoffed. "What a man you've got yourself there," she stated, "And you question _my _taste…"

Slowly, Tamamin's expression morphed from pleading to one of annoyance. "You know, you don't even know what I said," she protested bravely. "And even if you did, there's no reason for you to be acting like this."

"No reason?" Sugi practically hissed, leaning towards her best friend. "You think there's no-"

"What reason could you _possibly _have for treating me like this because I mention that a boy happened to ask me out?" Tamamin retorted, and though her voice was shaking slightly, it offered an invisible challenge.

"I-" Sugi began before pausing, the fire leaving her system rapidly, leaving her with only that stupid, gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach. "I don't know, I don't-"

She broke off when she felt Tamamin's hand connecting gently with her cheek, and involuntarily leaned into the touch like a cat. "Don't say that," Tamamin said quietly, and, Sugi realized with a start, her eyes were welling up with tears. "Don't say you don't have a reason."

Sugi frowned in confusion. "But I-"

And then she was cut off again, but she didn't entirely mind the interruption as Tamamin's arms found their way around her neck, their lips working in sync as the smaller girl pulled herself onto Sugi's lap. Leaning back against the wall, Sugi pulled the girl closer so that their bodies were flush against each other, her fingers twitching with little sparks of _something _that were jolting down her body.

And then Tamamin pulled away as quickly as she'd kissed her, and smiled brightly at the still disoriented Sugi. It was always (always) Sugi who initiated, and only then when they were both reasonably wasted. "That's why I need a boyfriend, Sugi, for kissing and stuff," she chirped before rolling over and promptly falling asleep, leaving Sugi sitting beside her, unsure of whether to be sad or confused or angry.

And vaguely, Sugi realized that she'd hardly noticed her boyfriend that day at all.

_Well, there goes that theory._

**Review, por favor :3**


	5. What Just Happened?

**CBgurl: Thanks! :)**

**KouldIiiItBe: Thanks :3 I'll definitely keep updating, I already have a few more chapters written.**

**Major Mike Powell III: Thanks :3 I had a hard time imagining what a jealous Sugi would look like, so I settled for the typical straight-girl reaction lol. And of course, Tamamin always wins :)**

**xannaxmurderx: Don't worry, everything will work out in the end, I promise. I can't stand unhappy endings :(**

**Hey, I can't sleep, and I just realized that I hadn't updated in a while, so I went ahead and did that. Sorry for the long wait guys D: Merry Christmas, as it turns out :P**

**And if you're reading this, I'm sorry for…you know…everything.**

**XxxxX**

**More than This**

**Four: What Just **_**Happened**_**?**

_**xXLiStLesSXx**_

**XxxxX**

"I said yes."

Sugi didn't have to look up to know that Tamamin's eyes were boring into her, searching for a reaction. But the taller girl honestly didn't want to open her mouth at the moment, afraid of the cold words she knew would spill out, whatever her brain might say. Luckily, Mari saved her from answering.

"Yes to what?" she asked innocently, though her eyes, too, were resting on the beautiful brunette sitting across the booth from her, and Sugi had a sinking feeling that she _knew_.

_No she doesn't- what is there to know? There's nothing. _

_Nothingnothingnothingnothing-_

"One of the members of the anime club asked me to be his girlfriend," Tamamin chirped with a smile that was far too cheerful for Sugi's liking. Akko fixed her with a strange look as the other two girls were conversing, and Sugi looked down, realizing that she had torn her napkin to shreds at some point.

_Maybe it's more than _nothing…_but that doesn't have to make it _something_ either._

"What's he like?" Sugi heard Mari ask as she dropped the shredded napkin on the table, tuning back into the conversation.

For all her efforts, the brunette couldn't manage to hold back a scoff. "Boring," she snapped in a needlessly harsh voice, ignoring the fact that she was being completely obvious. She knew (_knew_) she shouldn't take pleasure from the look of hurt in Tamamin's eyes, but it killed her to know that she was apparently the only one confused by everything; that Tamamin was able to skip along her merry way without a single sole regret. Without a backwards glance.

Because _damnit, _Sugi was supposed to be the heartbreaker. And Sugi was never supposed to be the one being left behind. And _why _was she even thinking about things like hearts and feelings when she had five boyfriends of her own? She didn't need some silly, childish…_crush_ dictating her thoughts and actions.

She felt Tamamin's gaze on her once more, and this time her eyes flitted up to meet those of her best friend.

Confusion wasn't a comfortable feeling for someone as perceptive and mature as Sugi- she preferred to know exactly what she wanted and exactly how she was going to get it, rather than flounder around, unaware of her own emotions like a certain someone tended to do. But when she saw the way Tamamin was looking at her- almost as if _pleading _with her- Sugi really didn't know what to think. She narrowed her eyes at her friend, her brow furrowing, as if to ask, _What do you want from me? _Tamamin's large eyes flashed with hurt and she turned away from the extremely lost brunette, leaning forward on the table, almost as if she were pouting.

Across from them, Akko and Mari exchanged a look. "Um, Tamamin," Mari began hesitantly, almost wincing when the teary gaze turned to her, "Why don't we go down the street and buy some ice cream? I'm sure Akko and Sugi-san will wait for us."

"Definitely," Akko confirmed from beside her, grinning up at her girlfriend as Mari slid out from beside her, waiting for Tamamin to get up before walking out of Mr. Donut. Akko watched them for a moment before turning back to Sugi with a rather out-of-place serious look in her eyes. "What's going on between you and Tamamin?" she asked quietly, not as if she were trying to keep a secret, but more like she was being careful of Sugi's feelings. "And don't tell me nothing."

Sugi sighed. "If you don't want to hear the truth, I don't know _why-"_

"No," Akko said in a slightly shocking firm tone, shaking her head. "That's not the truth, Sugi-san, I've known you since we were first years. That look in your eyes- it's not a _nothing _look, and the way you acted when Tamamin started talking about her boyfriend…"

A low growl rumbled from the brunette's chest before she could stop herself. "He's not her-" She cut herself of, sighing as she slumped in the booth. "Why would I care who Tamamin dates?"

"That's what I want to know," Akko replied, cocking her head to the side. "Why _do _you care?"

Sugi shrugged noncommittally. "She's never had a boyfriend before, I just don't want her to get hurt," she said in a failed attempt at a flippant tone. "You know how men are, like on the train, for example."

Akko nodded. "Yeah, I do," she said, grimacing when she thought of the looks Mari sometimes got on the train. Akko probably got the looks too, but was far too concerned with scowling at all the perverts leering at _her_ Mari to notice. God, it felt so good to be able to say those words, and she would bet anything that the lack of that right was why Sugi was acting so sullen. "I also know that it happens so much that all most girls do is focus on protecting themselves, not their friends. I don't watch out for anyone but Mari on the trains."

"Mari and Tamamin are different," Sugi defended, "Mari would-" She paused, because, no, Mari _wouldn't _know a good way to defend herself, probably- if anything, Tamamin was more experienced than Akko's shy girlfriend. "It's just different."

Akko met her gaze with such a sad, empathetic look that Sugi wanted to tell her to stop with the pity party already. "I know," she said quietly, staring down at her cup and pushing the ice around with her straw. "Mari's different, too," she stated, raising her gaze to meet Sugi's boldly, her eyes leaving no room for argument.

**PGBR**

As unnerving as it had been to see such a serious side of Akko, her final words shook Sugi to her core.

_"Mari's different, too."_

It was fairly obvious what Akko had implied by that statement, and Sugi was fairly sure that she should be more annoyed by the accusation than shaken by it. At least, if it wasn't true.

_Since_ _it isn't true, _since.

"Sugi?"

Sugi glanced up to find Tamamin standing only inches away from her desk and blinked several times- how had she managed to miss that? "What is it, Tamamin?" she asked, deciding that it would be better to act like yesterday hadn't happened.

The otaku bit her lower lip, her feet shuffling around on the floor, and Sugi's brow creased in an instinctive frown. She was about to ask Tamamin what was wrong before the shorter girl finally spoke up. "You don't want me to be with Kenji-kun," she stated. "Why?" This time, she lifted her gaze to meet the beautiful brunette's, clearly nervous, but holding her ground.

Sugi raised her eyebrows, biting back the somewhat familiar, uncomfortable twinge in her stomach at the mention of the boy's name. "I thought I made that clear right after we met, Tamamin," she commented in as neutral a voice as she could manage. "He's boring- there's no way he could possibly keep up with you."

As if she'd flicked a switch, Tamamin's eyes began to water, and Sugi found herself fumbling for a way to fix whatever she'd done wrong before her shorter friend spoke up again. "Can anyone keep up with me?" she asked quietly, sniffing. "Or is it just that I have to be alone forever now, Sugi?" Her words became sharper as she went on, her eyes narrowed accusingly at the flustered brunette. "You don't approve of _anyone _who likes me."

"That's hardly fair," Sugi finally managed, "Ken- _he _is the only one you've mentioned." Suddenly something occurred to the taller girl, and she straightened, eyes narrowed. "Have there been other boys?"

Tamamin choked out a watery laugh. "See, this is what I'm talking about!" she said, gesturing to Sugi in general, who raised one sculpted eyebrow. "You have no _idea _who else there's been, or hasn't been, and you already disapprove! You're my best friend, Sugi, I want you to be happy for me."

_How can you be happy for her when all you want is to have her for yourself?_

And there it was, the realization- the blunt, ugly, bold-faced truth of it all. "I…Mari-chin is happy for you," she hedged, uncharacteristically stuck for words, her silver tongue having turned to lead. "And Akko-"

"Mari-chin isn't _you_, Sugi, I-"

A low growl ripped from Sugi's throat. "Neither is _he_," the beautiful brunette spat before she could stop herself, her words laced with vulnerability beneath all the acid. Tamamin's eyes widened, filling with an emotion that Sugi couldn't (wouldn't) place, and, realizing what she'd just said, the taller girl jumped to her feet, grabbing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder, leaving the room at a fast clip and hoping against hope that Tamamin wouldn't follow her.

She did, of course.

"Sugi! Sugi, wait up! This isn't fair, you have longer legs than me!" Tamamin cried from behind her, completely oblivious to the scene she was making of them.

Sugi ignored her, and eventually the footsteps faded along with the school, and she was filled with an overwhelming sense of emptiness, and half of her wanted to hate Tamamin for giving up so easily. And then the rational part of her brain wanted to hate _herself _for caring so damn much about some hopeless otaku, because really, Sugi was well and truly out of the shorter girl's league.

_But…_

_ But _what_? There's no _but_, she's your best friend, the one who's supposed to be there no matter what, the one who was never supposed to become more._

She sighed, swallowing hard and trying to think about anything (_anything_) other than what she'd just done. The brunette boarded the train with legs that felt uncommonly heavy, and situated herself between two women, leaning back against the pole she was holding onto. The last thing she needed today was some businessman with a hero complex making her life even more complicated.

Since when had she wanted _more _from Tamamin? From _anyone_? How long had it been since those drunken nights hadn't left that empty, lonely feeling in the pit of her stomach the morning after?

Sugi sighed again and slumped against the side of the train, folding her arms loosely over her chest, willing herself to forget about the little otaku who had somehow claimed such a large portion of her heart.

**PGBR**

It was three days before Tamamin managed to corner Sugi, and in the restroom, no less.

"Why are you avoiding me?"

Sugi jumped slightly as the smaller girl glared down at her- which was quite a feat, considering how many inches Sugi had on her best friend- her hands on her hips. "Don't be ridiculous," the wavy-haired brunette scoffed. "Why would I be avoiding you?"

Tamamin pouted. "You really think I missed what you said before you ran off a few days ago?" she asked. "Do you really think I'm too absorbed in my manga to notice when my best friend is obviously jealous of my boyfriend? You said it out loud, Sugi!"

The smaller girl was yelling by this point, and Sugi's eyes darted to the door for an instant before she looked back down at her best friend. "Tamamin…" she began in a low, pleading tone that was very unlike her usual breezy voice. "Can we talk about this later?"

Tamamin huffed. "So you can run away from me again?" she asked, her large eyes shimmering with eyes beginning to shimmer with unshed tears. "Why can't you just tell me what's going on?" The smaller girl stomped her foot, which might have been funny if she didn't look about two seconds from bursting into tears.

Running a hand through her hair, Sugi tried to look anywhere but at her best friend until she couldn't take it anymore and looked back at Tamamin, effectively crumbling her remaining resolve. "Because I don't know what's going on, Tamamin!" she finally sighed, her left hand instinctively reaching for the girl's lower back. Something inside of her purred as the smaller girl's body instinctively molded to her hand, and she had to keep herself from holding Tamamin to her. "I just don't know. I'm sorry."

Tamamin looked as if she wanted to protest, but the words seemed to die on her lips as she watched the confusion in her best friend's eyes. "That's okay, Sugi," she said, forcing a bright smile and clutching the taller girl in a brief hug before jumping away and staring up into Sugi's eyes. "But just don't deny it if you're feeling something, okay? You don't have to know what it is, but don't deny it, okay?" Tamamin reached up and brushed the bangs from Sugi's eyes, tucking some curly hair behind her ear, eliciting a rare blush from the taller girl. Then she giggled. "Especially when you're so obvious about it," she sang, tugging on Sugi's collar and skipping out of the bathroom, leaving a relatively breathless brunette behind.

_What just _happened_?_

**Review, por favor!**


	6. It Doesn't Have to Be Anything

**Hey guys, here's another chapter!**

**DividedBy: Thanks :3 I was actually thinking about doing something along those lines, but I wanted the fic to be longer…hopefully I'll keep things in character as I go on. Another reason I wanted her to hesitate a bit was because I do get the feeling that Sugi's never really had true feelings for anyone before Tamamin.**

**Major Mike Powell III: Thanks :) Sugi's a bit more difficult to write than other characters, but hopefully I'll keep it in character.**

**CBgurl: Thanks :3 Tamamin's definitely catching on at this point.**

**BLAK2Wer: Um, thanks? I think… :P**

**xannaxmurderx: Thanks, I'm glad you think so :)**

**XxxxX**

**More than This**

**Five: It Doesn't Have to Be Anything**

_**xXLiStLesSXx**_

**XxxxX**

Sugi found herself unable to look away from Tamamin for much longer than a few minutes before her eyes would inevitably wander back to the smaller girl.

Despite their talk a week before, their relationship- could she even call it that?- hadn't changed much at all, other than Tamamin being more openly affectionate. At the current moment, they were curled up on the couch in Akko's living room, Sugi's arm draped casually over the smaller girl's shoulders while Tamamin leaned into her side, blissfully unaware of the way the Sugi's heart was beating faster. Akko, despite their talk the past week, had passed off the cuddling as normal behavior, while Mari watched them a little more closely. Sugi shifted slightly under her gaze.

"So, Akko, are you sure your mother's okay with us spending the winter holiday at your family's cabin?" Mari asked, ever the polite one, only to be greeted by a blinding smile from her ever-attentive girlfriend. The shorter girl flushed darkly and Sugi smiled at the sight, catching Akko's eye as the blonde glanced up with a grin.

"Of course, Mari," she said, an arm curled around her girlfriend's waist. They hadn't officially come out, but the affection between them was getting to be so obvious that everyone had pretty much figured it out. "Mom even said we could bring as many friends as we wanted." Then her brow furrowed in an adorable frown. "But no boys. Or Mayu-san," she added as an afterthought. Mari watched her girlfriend with a fond expression, her cheeks just slightly flushed.

Sugi just watched the display, her fingers absentmindedly playing with Tamamin's pigtails while the girl read a manga, completely spacing out on the conversation at hand. _No wonder she's the only one who doesn't know_, Sugi thought mildly. Out loud, she said, "I thought you liked Mayu-san, Akko-san," a teasing smirk playing at the edge of her lips. "She is your fan, after all." Akko glared at the girl, suddenly regretting confiding in her about her and Mari's slight misunderstanding about Mari's old friend. Sugi smiled smugly and settled in closer to Tamamin, her breath hitching when the smaller girl's head settled into the nook between her shoulder and neck.

"I- I just thought it would be more fun for all of us to go, like, since we've been together since the beginning high school," Akko stuttered, her voice becoming progressively more of a mumble as her face flushed. Mari giggled and kissed her cheek before freezing, her eyes flitting over to Tamamin, who glanced up from her manga.

"What, were you two supposed to be a secret or something?" she asked, before she went back to her manga. Sugi watched the smaller girl for a moment before turning back to the blushing Akko and Mari and quirking an eyebrow.

**PGBR**

Sugi watched in amusement as Tamamin shot yet another businessman what must have been the fifth glare of the day as he looked a little too long as the tall brunette. "Tamamin," she began, casually pulling the smaller girl back into a proper sitting position. Tamamin huffed, but was soon distracted by her manga.

Sugi took the new peaceful moment to lean back against the seat and just _think_. She didn't know what was going on with Tamamin- she _knew _they both wanted more than just what _had _been, but anything more than that was beyond her. She hadn't broken up with any of her boyfriends (but really, they _hardly _counted), and as far as she knew, Tamamin hadn't broken up with…with _him _yet. Her jaw muscles tightened at the thought, and she didn't realize how tense she was until she felt a small hand press against her arm. She looked down to find Tamamin frowning up at her in confusion, and her heart melted when the shorter girl began to rub her arm, as if it would make the tension disappear.

"What's wrong?" she asked, and Sugi just shook her head. The smaller girl fixed her with a look, which Sugi returned, and finally Tamamin groaned in frustration and turned back to her manga. The taller girl smiled slightly and sat back in her seat, one leg folded over the other, pulling her phone from her purse and scrolling down her contacts list to the name of her favorite boyfriend.

"Who are you texting?" Tamamin asked, sitting up taller to try and get a peek at the phone. "Sugiii~" she whined, wrapping her arms around Sugi's shoulders as the taller girl tried to pull away. Suddenly Sugi felt the pressure disappear and she turned to Tamamin, who wore what could have been mistaken as a hurt expression. "Why are you texting him?" she asked, blunt as ever.

Sugi gaped for several seconds before she shook herself out of it. "Is there a problem with that?" she asked, eyeing her best friend, who now wore a full-fledged pout. "I have to pay attention to them, or they'll get needy, and there's nothing worse than a needy boyfriend," she explained in her usual lofty tone. The pout didn't disappear from Tamamin's face. "_What_?"

"Nothing," the otaku muttered in a very un-Tamamin-like manner, shrinking back down into her seat and going back to her manga. Sugi sighed and tilted her head back towards the roof of the train, wondering what the hell was going on with them.

**PGBR**

They'd been at the cabin for almost two hours, and Mari was in the bath while Tamamin had gone up to the room she and Sugi were sharing to read manga, leaving Akko and Sugi alone in the living room.

Akko was watching Sugi while the other girl rubbed her temples. "Heey, what's wrong?" Akko asked, nudging Sugi playfully. The taller girl rolled her eyes. "Come on, I can tell something's up."

"You're delusional, Akko," Sugi said, sitting back in a more relaxed position. "Nothing's 'up'."

Akko grinned smugly. "Oh, and I bet it doesn't have anything to do with what happened between you and Tamamin on the train," she sang in a purposefully obnoxious voice, causing Sugi to roll her eyes again.

"Nothing happened on the train," she stated blandly, examining her nails.

Akko frowned slightly, suddenly realizing that the situation wasn't as shallow as she'd thought. "Something did happen," she said. "I know I say the wrong things and I don't know what to do a lot of the time, but I saw Tamamin's face after she was that message."

Sugi shrugged. "She shouldn't have been reading my messages." Akko fixed her with a look and she sighed, raising her hands to her temples once again. "I don't know what's going on," she said. "I know she knows that there's something more between us, she talked to me about it, Akko." She sighed again and shook her head. "She told me I didn't have to know what it was; how can she get upset that I have my boyfriends still?"

"It doesn't seem like you like her boyfriend very much yourself," Akko replied. "I can't believe you believed her when she said that. She's Tamamin, you can't expect her to hide her feelings, otherwise she wouldn't be herself," she said with a grin. Sugi smiled slightly.

"No, we couldn't have that," she replied, only half-sarcastic as she stretched, watching Tamamin trample down the stairs and into the room. "Hey, Tamamin," she said with a smile, lifting a bottle of alcohol she'd found in the kitchen.

Tamamin huffed and walked right past the couch, leaving a dumbfounded brunette watching after her. Sugi turned to Akko with the expression still in place and the blonde smiled, crawling towards her to whisper into her hear. "What are you waiting for? She's already jealous of your boyfriends, there's no better time to find out what she wants than now," the blonde advised, and Sugi reluctantly got to her feet to follow Tamamin into the kitchen, ignoring the cry of "Go get 'er, Tiger!" from behind her.

"Hey," the beautiful girl began, leaning back against the kitchen cabinet while she watched Tamamin root around for snacks. "Want to tell me what's going on?"

Tamamin continued to ignore her, and she groaned, thrusting her head back towards the ceiling. "I didn't _do _anything, Tamamin!"

The smaller girl scoffed. "Yeah, you don't have to tell _me _that," she muttered, finally turning to face Sugi. "I thought I knew what you wanted, Sugi- I thought you wanted _me_, at least a little bit!"

"I do!" the taller girl insisted, her voice a few octaves too loud. "Why would you think I didn't?"

"You don't act like it," Tamamin muttered, staring down at her feet. Sugi leaned back slightly, her face contorted with confusion. "I know you get jealous whenever my boyfriend is mentioned." As if to prove her point, the beautiful girl tensed at her words. "But there's nothing _else_."

Sugi frowned, and reached out hesitantly to take the smaller girl into her arms, sighing in pleasure as Tamamin curled into her arms. "What else do you want there to be, Tamamin?" she asked. "What do you want me to do? I know how you reacted when I messaged my boyfriend, but I can't just break it off with them when we don't even know what…this…is?"

Tamamin shrugged. "You don't have to break it off with them," she began somewhat reluctantly, "but if we're going to try and find out what's going on with us, you can't just keep acting like you always do around me." Sugi frowned. What was wrong with how she always acted? Tamamin caught the look on her face and sighed, breaking away from the hug only to take Sugi's face in her hands and place a slow kiss to the taller girl's lips, leaving her breathless. "We can't figure out what's going on if we just keep acting like friends, Sugi. I mean, we don't have to be all public about it, but at least, here, by ourselves or around Akko and Mari-chin…" Tamamin trailed off, her eyes nervously flitting around the floor, and Sugi realized that for once, her best friend was actually uncertain.

"Of course we can," she found herself saying, if only to see the bright smile that lit up Tamamin's features, to feel the slender arms wrap around her shoulders in glee. "What are we going to tell them, though?"

"The truth?" Tamamin asked, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, and Sugi couldn't help but grin at the simplicity of her answer. "It's not like they're not together."

Sugi leaned down and pecked a beaming Tamamin on the lips. "You know, I was starting to worry that you were actually oblivious to them," she murmured. The shorter girl responded with a mischievous grin before cupping the back of Sugi's neck and pulling the girl down to her lips.

**PGBR**

It was eleven at night, and the girls were all curled up in the living room, their positions telling of their respective relationships. Akko and Mari were curled up together on the loveseat, Mari's head on the blonde's shoulder, and Akko resting her cheek on top of the brunette's head, while Sugi and Tamamin were crowded comfortably into the large, plush armchair slightly to the right, Tamamin in Sugi's lap, the taller girl's arms wrapped snugly around her waist. Sugi let out a content, breathy sigh, resting her chin on top of Tamamin's shoulder.

They were watching some new movie, but the beautiful brunette wasn't entirely sure what it was about, being too caught up in the gently breathing body in her arms. About a quarter of the way through the movie, Akko reached out and paused the picture before turning around and facing the two girls. "So, what, are you two together now?" she asked bluntly even as Mari touched her arm in an attempt to keep her girlfriend from saying just that. "Because I'm really confused about this on-again-off-again thing you two seem to be doing."

Sugi flushed uncharacteristically, and surprisingly, it was Tamamin who replied. "We're not together," she said with a shrug, "and we're still with our boyfriend…s," she glared up at Sugi, who pursed her lips and looked away. "But after all those years of kissing and…other stuff," Tamamin giggled, and this time, Sugi seemed to regain her confidence slightly, grinning feistily while Akko made a face, "we've discovered we might have some feelings for each other. So we're just…trying this out."

Mari frowned slightly as Akko tilted her head, apparently completely befuddled by the idea of sharing her girlfriend with someone else. "Are…are you sure that's good for you two?" she asked hesitantly, her eyes shimmering with concern.

"What's wrong with seeing where this goes?" It was Sugi who spoke this time, feigning nonchalance as she pulled out her phone. Tamamin caught her and plucked it out of her hands, causing the taller girl to gape at her shorter friend. "What was that for?"

"I don't talk to Kenji-kun around _you_," Tamamin replied in a huffy tone that was actually kind of adorable if Sugi was being honest with herself. Sugi sighed and shrunk back in her seat, pulling Tamamin with her in a gesture of silent submission. Feeling her friend relax beneath her, the shorter girl beamed at Sugi and pressed a grateful kiss to her cheek before settling in closer, oblivious to the faint blush coloring Sugi's cheeks.

**PGBR**

From several feet away, Mari was biting her lip even as Akko ran her fingers lovingly down her forearm. "What's wrong?" she heard the taller girl murmur into her ear, and turned to press a short kiss to Akko's lips to relieve the tension between her brows. "Mmm, Mari, don't distract me," the blonde murmured, smiling into the kiss before she pulled away and regarded her girlfriend. "Now what's on your mind?"

Mari sighed and shifted her gaze to the two girls sitting in the armchair only a few feet away from them. Akko followed her gaze and frowned slightly. "I'm worried about them," Mari finally admitted in a whisper, her breath warm against Akko's neck. The blonde bit back a moan, trying to focus on her girlfriend's words instead of her hormones. "The way they look at each other…at least Sugi-san…it's not just friendship, or some experimental feelings," she finally said, her eyes straying to the floor as she remembered those horrible, sleepless nights of trying to forget her feelings for her best friend. "I can't tell with Tamamin, for some reason I think she's not as open with her feelings as she seems to be. I don't think she's been hurt, really, but she doesn't wear her heart on her sleeve. With Sugi-san…I don't know why _she's _being so obvious-"

"Sugi's never had to hide her feelings before," Akko finished, staring at the two over Mari's shoulder, her lips pressed to her girlfriend's shoulder. "I don't think she's ever felt anything more than attraction to anyone before now."

Turning back to Sugi and Tamamin, Mari nodded slowly in understanding. Then her eyes flashed with renewed worry. "But then…will she be alright?"

Akko frowned. "What do you mean?"

"If she's never felt anything for anyone before now," Mari began, "will she really be okay with such a casual relationship?"

Akko's eyes widened in understanding and she looked upset for several seconds before she pulled Mari closer and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, causing the shorter girl to flush deeply. "I don't think so," she admitted, "and I think she'll figure that out soon enough, if she hasn't already. But there's nothing we can do about it, Mari; if we interfere, things will just get more complicated."

Mari frowned slightly, but sighed, leaning back against her girlfriend. "When did you become the voice of reason?" she asked playfully, smiling shyly up at Akko.

"I think it was around when I fell for you," she replied, before leaning down to press a kiss to Mari's lips.


	7. We Could Be

Page 8

**Clearly, I've changed my name, though it probably isn't as big of a deal here and won't cause the problems it might in other fandoms…anyway, thanks for all the reviews! I'm going to stop replying to them in the story simply to stop cluttering everything up- if you'd like a reply, feel free to mention that in your review and I'll message you. Otherwise, enjoy, and please continue to review :3 They really do motivate me to write, I never would have started this up again if I hadn't got such a hit on this story recently review-wise.**

**oOOOo**

**More than This**

**Six: We Could Be**

_**iAtethePoisonedApple**_

**oOOOo**

Tamamin awoke earlier than usual, her body still used to the school schedule. After a few moments, she noticed a heavy but pleasant weight against her midriff, and reached down to intertwine her fingers gently with those of her best friend. With a low sigh, Sugi pulled Tamamin tighter to her chest and buried her face in the smaller girl's hair.

Tamamin rolled over to face Sugi and pressed a kiss to the sleepy girl's lips. "You're such a top," she said, giggling when Sugi grumbled and rolled onto her stomach, trapping the smaller girl beneath her arm.

"'s early, go back t' sleep," Sugi replied, her voice muffled by the pillows. She groaned when she felt Tamamin squirming beside her and sat up, yawning widely and rubbing her eyes with the balls of her palm. "Tamamin, it's _break_."

"I can't go back to sleep," the shorter girl declared, moving to stand up, but squealing as she was pulled back down, falling on top of the surprisingly strong Sugi. "Sugi~!"

Sugi grinned and maneuvered herself so that Tamamin was straddling her lap and leaned forward, capturing the girl's pale lips in a long kiss. Tamamin giggled into Sugi's lips and returned the kiss lavishly, her arms tightening around the taller girl's neck. After several seconds they broke the kiss for air, and Tamamin kept her arms in their position, her face buried in Sugi's hair. "I thought _you _of all people would wait until you brushed your teeth to attack me like that."

"_Attack _you, as if you didn't love it," Sugi mumbled, grinning sleepily up at Tamamin, who was smiling down at her with an indescribable look in her eyes. "Let's make out, Tamamiii~n," she purred, burying her fingers in Tamamin's hair and pulling her back up to her lips.

The shorter girl's giggles quickly morphed into breathy moans as Sugi moved down to the column of her neck, her lips pressing slow, pressured kisses all the way down it as she made her way to Tamamin's collarbone. "Sugi-" the smaller girl choked out, her hands gripping the taller girl's shoulders helplessly. "Sugi, stop. Please, you need to stop."

She felt Sugi let out an annoyed sigh against her skin and bit her lip as her friend slowly rose back up to meet her eyes, her sleepy glare only adding to her sexy, disheveled appearance. "_What_?" she asked, obviously annoyed with being interrupted.

"Sugi, we can't do this- not like _this_," Tamamin said reluctantly, knowing a sleepy Sugi was only just barely more rational than a drunken Sugi. "Not if we want to see if there are real feelings behind everything."

Sugi pulled away from Tamamin and pouted, folding her arms over her chest and the shorter girl smiled fondly at her. "Come on, Sugi, I want to go see the Christmas display with Akko and Mari-chin!" she chirped, tugging at the half-conscious girl's arm until Sugi stumbled out of bed and down the stairs behind her.

**PGBR**

"I can't believe I got dragged out of bed for this," Sugi sighed, thinking wistfully of her warm bed back at the cabin…Tamamin in her arms…she shook herself from her thoughts and back to the present. They were standing in the middle of a giant Christmas display that had been set up in a small town at the base of the mountain where Akko's family's cabin was located, shivering and enjoying the festivities.

Akko and Mari were huddled into each other for warmth, and Tamamin was nursing a hot cocoa, looking reminiscent of a giant marshmallow with her huge, fluffy coat, while Sugi was already donning the jacket of a young man she'd met only moments before. As he shuffled his feet, nervously asking for her number, Sugi chanced a glance at Tamamin, who rolled her eyes at the taller girl before glaring determinedly at her drink. Sugi groaned inwardly and proceeded to give the boy her number. He wasn't exactly hard on the eyes, and if Tamamin wasn't even going to bother to talk to her, Sugi certainly didn't feel the need to hold herself back.

A tiny part of her felt guilty- she knew it was her fault Tamamin was acting so cold towards her. When they had first arrived at the crowded little town, Mari had instantly attached herself to Akko, who had wrapped a protective arm around her girlfriend. Sugi had been taken aback by Tamamin clutching her waist, and had pried the girl off of her, insisting that they should act more normal. Tamamin had then argued that plenty of girls acted like this with their friends- that was how Akko and Mari got away with it, after all, but Sugi had shied away from the contact even afterwards. She and Tamamin had never been that close before, and it felt as if they were putting themselves out there for the world to do what it liked with them.

Tamamin hadn't talked to her in two hours.

It wasn't as if Sugi were afraid of what any of these people thought; actually, it was out of her concern for Tamamin that she had refused the contact. Tamamin was so naïve- she didn't _know _how these things worked, and Sugi refused to let her friend (and maybe more) be hurt. But now there was a tiny, insecure whisper in the back of her mind, wondering if she had done the right thing, after all.

She was jolted back to the present by the boy explaining that he had to go back to his girlfriend (_girlfriend_, really, what a man). Sugi offered him the jacket back, but he shook his head even as he was turning blue, insisting that she keep it. She shrugged as he jogged off, shoving a hand into one of the pockets and approaching Tamamin hesitantly. "Are you going to keep this up all day?" she asked quietly, her fingers just barely dancing down Tamamin's sides.

"Are you going to do _that _every time I'm upset with you?" Tamamin replied in such an uncharacteristically bitter tone that Sugi was genuinely taken aback. "That's not how you fix things, Sugi."

At this, Sugi frowned, stiffening as her pride bubbled within her. "Who says I was trying to fix anything?" she asked. "I have nothing to fix."

Tamamin scoffed. "You don't even see what you did to make me upset," she muttered. "You'd think, for all the times Akko goes to you for advice on Mari-chin…"

"I know what made you upset, Tamamin," Sugi replied sharply. "But I'm not your _girlfriend_, and you have no right to get angry with me for not wanting to flaunt whatever we have in public."

She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth once she saw Tamamin's lower lip quiver, but before she could say anything, the shorter girl spoke. "You know what?" she began, poking her finger into the brunette's chest, "I don't care if you give your number to a thousand boys. This was a terrible idea, being drunk make out partners was more than enough, and I can't believe I let you rope me into this," she spat, more disgusted with herself than anything. "I can't believe you did this to _me_, Sugi," she added in a lower voice, and Sugi frowned in confusion. "I know you manipulate those boys with your looks and charm and all, but I never thought you'd do it to _me_."

"Tamamin, I wouldn't!" Sugi replied, darting around so that Tamamin was forced to look into her eyes. "Why would you think I would do something like that to you?"

Tamamin shook her head, her teeth digging into her lower lip, a single tear escaping her wide, innocent eyes. She was a mess when she cried, and she knew it. She had to end this, and then get away from here, fast. "What else am I supposed to think, Sugi?" she asked quietly. "You don't want me to have a boyfriend, but you refuse to give us a chance. Nothing's going to grow from kissing and groping, not for us, Sugi!" Tamamin snapped suddenly, her eyes boring into those of her confused friend. "We've been doing that for years!" The smaller girl was shaking, and Sugi reached out to her only to be shoved back. "Calling a boy a man won't make him grow up any faster, Sugi," Tamamin muttered, her voice finally breaking, and she pushed passed the tall brunette, easily dodging Sugi's attempt to grab onto her, and disappeared into the crowd of people around them.

**PGBR**

Tamamin made it approximately a quarter of a mile away from the scene of the fight before she collapsed against the side of a building, dissolving into loud, heart wrenching sobs. The pain in her chest felt like it was eating her alive, and she couldn't stop shaking, even though she was hardly cold after the mad dash she'd just made.

_What is this? What's wrong with me?_

"You've never had your heart broken before?"

Tamamin started, whirling around to face a boy who looked to be about her age- actually, he looked pretty familiar…

"Harada?" she squeaked before she could stop herself, instantly clapping her hands over her mouth. The boy only laughed and nodded. "Mari's boyfriend."

"Ex," he corrected with a slight nod in acknowledgment. "It hurts, right? And it feels like it'll never get any better. But it will, okay? Trust me, I've been there." One look at Tamamin's face had the boy backtracking. "N-not that I was in love with Mari-chan! It was a different girl! But…yeah, I've been there."

Tamamin smiled slightly through her large, messy tears. "Thanks, Harada-kun!" she chirped, trying bravely to smile through the pain, "but I'm not heart broken or anything like that, it wasn't that serious. I mean, I'm not in love with her- him!"

The boy nodded as if he understood, and took her into his arms as if it were nothing, and Tamamin just fell into him, sobbing uncontrollably. "Of course you're not," he mumbled, holding her close to him as he thought of another girl, one with a shy smile and a loud, overprotective 'best friend'.

Their moment was interrupted only a moment later by the sound of a throat being cleared loudly. Without letting go, Harada looked up, his eyes going wide in fright at the sight of the raging girl in front of him. "Let go of my girlfriend," Sugi snarled, taking advantage of Harada's shock to curl an arm around the shorter girl and pull Tamamin to her.

"Sugi!" Tamamin scolded, but the lovely girl's glare didn't soften, and the arm around her waist only gripped her more tightly.

"Calm down, okay? I was only comforting her," Harada defended, hands up in surrender as he backed away. Sugi huffed an angry breath through her nose and wrapped her other arm around Tamamin so that the smaller girl couldn't escape. "Always getting accused of stealing people's girlfriends," he muttered under his breath as he trudged away.

"What was that?" Tamamin finally asked, turning so that she could glare at her friend.

Sugi winced internally- how long had it been since she'd seen the light, happy-go-lucky girl she fell- she _liked _so much? "That was me scaring off some guy trying to put the moves on you," she mumbled. "Look, Tamamin, I'm sorry." Tamamin raised an eyebrow.

"I hope that's not all you're going to say."

Sugi sighed and leaned her head against the wall as they watched the festivities from afar. "I don't know what else to _say_."

"Is it really that hard?" Tamamin's voice was surprisingly quiet, and Sugi glanced down at the girl in her arms with a curious expression. "To ask me, I mean. To _want _us? If you can say it in the heat of the moment like that, why can't you just say it to me?"

Sugi's jaw tightened. "You told me we didn't have to name this, Tamamin," she stated coldly.

If it were anyone else, Tamamin could have (_would _have) just left right then- just walked away and forgotten about them entirely. But Sugi wasn't just anyone, she didn't lift out like a cookie-cutter- Sugi was her best friend. Her heart-wrenchingly beautiful, unattainable best friend. "We don't," she said softly. "But if we don't, you can't keep laying claims on me like that, Sugi." Her voice grew stronger as she spoke; more determined.

The beautiful girl folded her arms over her chest and huffed. "I wasn't laying a claim," she said loftily. "If you would rather have had him asking for your number-"

"And who says I wouldn't?" Tamamin replied, as if daring Sugi to challenge her. "We both know Harada-kun is a perfectly nice guy."

"Have you already forgotten about your _boyfriend_?" Sugi replied, her tone venomous as she emphasized the last word.

Tamamin giggled slightly in disbelief before realizing that her friend was absolutely serious. Because besides the fact that she had literally contradicted her own views of Tamamin's boyfriend… "Are you kidding me?" she asked. "In all the years I've known you, you've never had less than three boyfriends at a time, Sugi- you're not really one to call me out on how to treat my boyfriend."

"It's different," the taller girl mumbled, folding her arms over her chest and leaning against the building behind her, her eyes focused on the ground, though her bangs had fallen to cover them.

Tamamin watched Sugi- this new side of her best friend baffled her, though it wasn't exactly a negative sort of shock. She wasn't sure _how _she felt about this side of Sugi at all, just that it was…different. "How?" she asked quietly, turning her wide eyes to stare at the sulking brunette.

"It just is," Sugi muttered, still staring at the ground to avoid Tamamin's gaze. Deep down, she knew it was unfair of her to criticize the shorter girl for the treatment of her boyfriend, even if she _was _in some kind of position to do so. But everything inside of her was so opposed to the idea of Tamamin having a boyfriend- Tamamin _belonging to someone else_- that she couldn't bring herself to be rational, something that she had always prided herself on.

Her heart gave an uncomfortable leap when she felt small, impossibly soft fingers lifting her chin, forcing her to look away from the ground, and it almost burst out of her chest when a pair of gentle lips met with hers not even a second later. She found herself wrapping her arms around Tamamin's waist, pulling her closer, flush against herself, because Sugi was feeling strange inside, as if closest wasn't close enough. Slender arms wrapped around her neck, squeezing tightly, almost to an uncomfortable level, but somehow her body had gone numb to any kind of pain, and all she could focus on was Tamamin's lips, and the small body wrapped up in her arms.

They broke apart several minutes later, and Sugi found herself struggling for breath as she rested her forehead against Tamamin's. "Don't talk to Harada-kun," she murmured into the shorter girl's hair, arms still tight around Tamamin.

The words were both a blessing and a curse- a blessing, because at least now she knew that Sugi _cared_, but a curse because Sugi didn't care quite enough to stay away from boys herself. Tamamin weighed her options- the right decision, of course, was to call Sugi out on being irrational and unfair. And before, back when it was just some boy, Tamamin would have done so in a heartbeat. After all, what was a relationship built on possessiveness?

But this wasn't just some boy- this was _Sugi_, and she knew her best friend well enough to know that Sugi had never made a request like this before, knew her well enough to realize that this meant that maybe, just maybe, the taller girl was developing real feelings for her.

So for the first time in her life, Tamamin shoved away her honesty- this wasn't as simple as she'd first assumed it would be- and tightened her arms around Sugi's shoulders. Rewarded with a gentle kiss to her neck, Tamamin took Sugi's face in her hands, forcing the girl to look her in the eyes- what she found there, an unreadable blend of emotions, almost made her fall apart on the spot, but she held on. "I won't," she stated definitely.

Sugi grinned brightly and claimed Tamamin's lips in a long kiss, and in that moment, the shorter girl realized that _maybe_, just maybe, this could actually _be _something.

_They _could actually be something.

**So there it is- I hope it's still to your guys's liking, I'm a bit off today for reasons that none of you probably care about :P So please forgive me if anything's not the way it should be.**

**Please remember to leave a review!**


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